The field of the Invention pertains to mounting systems for optical gun sights. Mounting systems are available in various forms and provide means of attaching the optical sight to the gun. The purpose of these mounting systems is to rigidly hold the optical sight in alignment with the axis of the bore of the gun and further allows the sight to be adjusted internally to direct the fired projectile(s) to the point of aim.
Prior art teaches that the vast majority of existing mounting systems appear as an accessory to the gun being mounted along with the exceptional few that portions of the mounting system is integral to the gun being mounted or the optical sight being mounted. The most common of these systems involve two basic members, commonly referred to as mounting rings and mounting bases. The rings are attached to the base and the ring-base combination is then attached to the gun with attach screws in corresponding attach holes in the gun normally at the receiver, frame or barrel. These ring-base assemblies are normally used in combinations of two, one in front of the other in close parallelism with the axis of the gun bore and holding the optical sight at two or more points in close alignment with the tubular embodiment of the optical sight. Some systems provide windage or elevation adjustment capabilities at some point in the mounts while others are permanent and rigid by design and effect.
Disadvantages with prior art lie in the fact that, because of the rigid nature, two or more mounting rings cannot be aligned without causing stress, binding or marring the outer surface of the optical sight. Inherent misalignment in any of the members of the mounting assembly as well as the mounted gun and "stack up" tolerances in the total assembly can combine to compound the stress, binding and disfiguration of the outer body of the optical sight. Misalignment of the attach holes, distorted or bent receivers on guns also greatly contribute to the misalignment. Metal to metal contact between the mounting rings and the optical sight cause cosmetic blemishes reducing the value of and render unpleasant esthetic value to expensive optical sights.
Prior art makes no provision for eliminating the binding effect of the optical sight. There is no provision for a "third member" in the assembly that allows the optical sight to find it's own center and at the same time providing a mechanism for optimum optical adjustment within the same mounting system when two or more distal mounting points are used.
Optical sights are, in fact, most efficient when internal components and lenses are optically centered. Any time the internal adjustments of the optical sight are required to be moved out of the optimum optical path the quality of the image suffers.
Additionally, prior art does not provide a combination of windage, elevation, increased surface contact, anti marring, anti binding, optical centering or extreme distance adjustment into a single mounting system of their own manufacture or one that can be attached to one of several other manufacturers.